Srinagar, Dec 01: The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh has upheld the life imprisonment of Arvind Verma and his lover for the murder of Verma’s wife, Shoba Verma, during the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi yatra in 2011, ruling that the prosecution had established a “complete chain of circumstances” proving their guilt.
A division bench of Justice Sanjeev Kumar and Justice Rajesh Sekhri, according to news agency Kashmir Dot Com (KDC), dismissed the criminal appeal filed by the two convicts, who were sentenced by the Principal Sessions Judge, Reasi, in 2018 under Sections 302, 201, and 120-B of the Ranbir Penal Code.
In a detailed 34-page judgment, Justice Sekhri noted that the prosecution had successfully shown that the appellants conspired to eliminate Shoba to continue their extramarital relationship. “The appellants have conspired with each other to kill the deceased with a view to getting rid of the deceased to sustain their affair,” the court said.
The crime occurred in March 2011, when staff at Prashar Guest House in Katra found Shoba Verma dead in Room 110 with her throat slit. She had checked in two days earlier with another woman who disappeared after locking the room from outside. For 72 hours, the victim remained unidentified until her brother recognised her through police-circulated pamphlets.
Investigators found that Arvind Verma had been in a long-term extramarital relationship with the co-accused and considered his wife an obstacle. The two women had travelled to Katra on a pilgrimage arranged by Arvind.
The court upheld findings that the co-accused booked the room under a fake name, administered sedatives to Shoba, and slit her throat before absconding. Applying the “last seen” doctrine, the bench observed that Shoba was last in the exclusive company of the co-accused, who offered no explanation for the murder. “Being an inmate of the room where the deceased was found murdered, the co-accused cannot be allowed to get away by maintaining silence,” the judges said.
The appellants argued that the case relied on weak circumstantial evidence and that CCTV footage lacked required certification. While the court agreed that the CCTV footage was inadmissible, it found the testimony of guesthouse staff credible and consistent.
Investigators had travelled to Uttar Pradesh during the probe, collecting statements and recovering evidence. Both accused were arrested in the state.
While the handwriting expert’s testimony regarding the guesthouse register was treated cautiously, the court held that independent witness accounts firmly established that the co-accused had made a false entry.
The bench also noted inconsistencies in Arvind Verma’s claim of filing a missing-person report, observing that his conduct suggested concealment rather than concern. Testimony from relatives and a priest confirmed strained marital relations.
Despite the brutal nature of the murder, the court ruled that the case did not qualify as “rarest of the rare” to warrant capital punishment. It upheld the life sentences, finding “no illegality or perversity” in the 2018 judgment, and ordered the convicts to continue serving their terms. (KDC)
